The Balonne River in the southern Queensland town of St George has become a raging torrent as residents brace for their second record flood in 10 months.

The weather bureau expects the river to surpass last year's 13.4-metre record today and continue rising on Sunday, but it is not predicted to surpass 14 metres.

Authorities predict the river will inundate around 30 homes.

Power has been turned off to more homes in the area and another 10,000 sandbags are being filled.

Floodwaters have already invaded some homes and residents in low-lying areas are nervously watching as the brown, murky water creeps closer.

Local resident Sharon Davidson is preparing her home as water seeps into her bottom room.

"Last year the flood came up very quickly. This year it's very, very slow," she said.

"It's almost like a slow death. I just wish it would do its thing and then recede."

Ms Davidson says the power has been turned off in her home.

"I think it's re-living my time in Venice with the water just lapping outside our house and all we need now is a gondola," she said.

Another resident, Keith Bauer, says there is an impressive volume of water moving downstream.

"Twelve months ago there were sections there you could just about walk across the river, and here we are today seeing this expanse of water - it's hard to believe," he said.

The finishing touches are being put on the town's 14.5-metre levee which should protect the vast majority of homes, and more police have been deployed to the area.

The community is trying to remain optimistic, but there is also a lot of concern.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard is expected to visit the town today.

'Hell of a job'

Meanwhile, the head of Queensland's flood recovery taskforce has spoken of the enormity of the job confronting devastated communities.

Major General Mick Slater flew into Rockhampton Friday to view the impact of the flooding firsthand.

He says residents have been dealt a horrible blow and that rebuilding the city will be tough.

"I've flown into Rockhampton as a soldier many, many times. This is the first time it's looked like a group of tropical islands," he said.

"The volume of water out there is enormous. The first impression that I had was one of a hell of a lot of work to do to get the town back on its feet."

He says his taskforce is looking at long-term issues and will work to ensure the state's damaged communities, infrastructure and major industries are rebuilt as quickly as possible.

But he says he wants to ensure everything happens in the right order.

"We've got to get it right the first time. Short-term, temporary fixes won't work," he said.

"We need to rebuild after this flood and I would like to see, and I'm sure we will see, parts of our infrastructure, parts of Queensland that are better than they were say two months ago. But this will take time."

'Devastating clean-up'

The Fitzroy River in Rockhampton is holding steady at 9.15 metres, just below its peak from earlier this week.

Up to 3,000 properties have been affected, but the number of water-damaged homes has been revised from 400 to about 300.

Residents are resigned to waiting at least a week before there is any significant fall in water levels.

Mayor Brad Carter says the recovery phase of flood operations in the city will ramp up over the next week.

"We don't think the damage has been as great as we thought, but I'm very cautious in making those sorts of comments because there are people that are devastated with what they all have to do when they start to move back into their homes," he said.

"But we haven't had any major injuries that I'm aware of and we're not aware of a death."

On Friday afternoon black storm clouds gathered to the west of the city.

There has also been a severe weather warning for heavy rain and flash flooding for the state's south-east coast and Wide Bay and Burnett regions.

Forecaster Rick Threlfall says wet conditions are expected to continue into next week.

"We're looking at probably about 50 to 100 millimetres possibly per 24 hours in that area so... that's for each 24 hours over the next three or four days," he said.

'Apprehensive return'

Some residents of Theodore, west of Bundaberg, have returned home for the first time since the small town was evacuated more than a week ago.

Theodore was swamped by floodwater from the Dawson River and about 350 residents were moved to nearby Moura.

Most homes and businesses in the town have had floodwater through them.

On Thursday, the Army airlifted a water-purifying machine into the town and crews are working to restore power and other essential services.

Yesterday three busloads of residents returned to check the state of their homes.

Business owner Ron Bock says the mood was subdued.

"I think a lot of people were wondering just what they were going to find and were a little bit apprehensive," he said.